Olympic silver medallist and world long jumper Luvo Manyonga won the South African Sports Star of the Year award at the annual sports awards in Johannesburg on Sunday. – By Team SA

Twenty-six-year-old Manyonga missed gold in Rio by just one centimetre and went one place better in London at the IAAF World Championships. A leap of 8.48 metres brought the gold medal to South Africa.

Manyonga is also only the third South African to win a Diamond League title in any discipline after Caster Semenya (800m) and Khotso Mokoena (long jump).

Manyonga, who has recently moved from Pretoria to Port Elizabeth, saying he wanted to be closer to his family, also picked up the Sportsman of the Year award, while Semenya won two awards for herself – the Sportswomen of the Year and People’s Choice Sports Star of the Year.

Semenya’s coach, Jean Verster was also honored, the Potchefstroom based former national athlete being named Coach of the Year.

This article originally appeared on teamsa.co.za.

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